San Francisco Blog

 A pair of men police blame for a rash of smash 'n' grab robberies in the Chinatown/North Beach area were arrested early this morning by plainclothes officers.

Nicknamed the "River Rock Burglar" because of his continued use of smooth, cobblestone-like rocks to smash store windows, the alleged thieves are accused of at least seven burglaries since early July. Police suspected a man who had been convicted of at least 13 similar "river rock burglaries" during two separate crime sprees over the past four years -- who was paroled just days before the first smash 'n' grab robbery in this spree.

Based upon initial police reports, it appears that this man -- and an accomplice -- were caught at around 4:45 this morning.

Officers Matt Sullivan and John Murphy recognized the suspect in this case -- who had a parole warrant -- and another man carrying backpacks at Montgomery and California in the pre-dawn hours. The men were detained -- though one fled to 555 California, where he attempted to discard his backpack before police captured him once again. Items recovered from the suspects included "tools used to break windows," a brick, flashlight, and rubber mallet. No word on whether there were any river rocks.

The suspects are described as being a 6-foot, 185-pound 45-year-old and a 5-foot-8, 155-pound 40-year-old. This is a bit odd, as the suspect in this case had been described as a 6-foot, 190-pound 48-year-old. Since one of the men -- presumably the larger one -- was recognized as the suspect by Central Station officers, it is possible that the 48-year-old and 45-year-old are the same man -- and someone added wrong when putting out police bulletins. Our calls to Captain James Dudley regarding the matter have not yet been returned.

Update, 1 p.m.: Dudley notes that, yes, someone added wrong the first time around. "This is the same guy," he notes -- and the suspect is 45.